Giant lock Eben Etzebeth will equal Victor Matfield’s mark of 127 Test caps if he comes off the bench on Saturday, which is a remarkable effort at the age of just 32 . Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
It was a day to forget for South African cricket on Wednesday.
The Proteas Women went down by 13 runs to Pakistan in their second T20 International in Multan, while their male counterparts produced a horror show with the bat to record their firstever defeat to Afghanistan in their first ODI in Sharjah.
To add insult to injury, the South Africa A men’s team – essentially the next-best players – lost by five wickets to Sri Lanka in Benoni in a four-day match to surrender the series 2-0.
The Proteas Men outfit are missing a number of stars who are being rested – such as Kagiso Rabada, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Keshav Maharaj, to name just a few – and will hope to bounce back in the second ODI on Friday.
The Proteas Women were also victorious in the first T20I in Pakistan, and should put up another big fight in today’s series decider.
But those cricket woes just puts the remarkable success of the Springbok rugby team in perspective.
It’s one thing winning a World Cup in 2019, and it’s another to defend that title four years later. But captain Siya Kolisi and his team are pushing through new frontiers this year.
They finally regained the Freedom Cup – contested with the All Blacks –for the first time since 2009 two weeks ago when they beat the New Zealanders at Cape Town Stadium, which was preceded by a victory at Ellis Park a week earlier.
They have won 18 out of 21 Tests over the past two years, and are now one step away from winning the Rugby Championship title.
In fact, when they run out against Argentina in Santiago del Estero on Saturday at 11pm, they will strive to make more history as the title will be their first “full” Rugby Championship triumph since the South Americans were added in 2012, as the 2019 season – when the Boks won the trophy –had only one round of games as it was a World Cup year.
How about another historic moment: giant lock Eben Etzebeth will equal Victor Matfield’s mark of 127 Test caps if he comes off the bench on Saturday, which is a remarkable effort at the age of just 32 (he turns 33 next month).
Good luck to our Bok warriors on Saturday, and let’s hope that there’s another piece of silverware in the change-room afterwards.
Cape Times
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